NFL draft prospects putting the final pieces in place

Mike Detillier/Sports Correspondent

Published: Sunday, January 25, 2009 at 8:00 a.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, January 24, 2009 at 10:59 p.m.

The Senior Bowl All-Star game is the centerpiece of all post-season all-star events for college players entering the NFL. A great showing at the Senior Bowl could sky rocket a player’s draft stock, but a top all-star game is just a part of what most teams look at when grading the top college players.

“I have always felt that the Senior Bowl or the East-West Shrine game were better indications on a player’s talent to enter the NFL than the combine workouts, and I would say 99.9 percent of the scouting people agree with that,” said former New Orleans Saints scout and current WWL-870 radio color analyst Hokie Gajan.

“When you scout players at the Senior Bowl, or any other all-star game, it is live action, a lot of one-on-one drills, especially with the offensive and defensive linemen, and you get to gauge players participating against other top college players,” Gajan said. “For the most part, the combine workouts are done in shorts and it is more of a speed, strength and agility workout than a football workout. Just look at last year. Guys like defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis, cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, quarterback Joe Flacco and wide receiver Eddie Royal helped their cause by practicing well at the Senior Bowl. After that game everyone put those players much higher on their draft board. It is another piece of the puzzle to workout well at the combine, but these bowl games take on much more significance because you are looking at them in football drills and not in short pants. The Combine workouts only mean something if you can play football.”

While most of the information on prospects are in the draft books, the final chapters are written by showings at the all-star game and in combine and individual workouts. Former NFL linebacker Marc Lillibridge, now a sports agent, says that players have to understand that what they did in college is over, and they have to concentrate on maximizing their pro skills in speed and conditioning camps across America.

“There is a second season and that season is the workout season,” Lillibridge said. “You want your players to participate in these bowl games if they get invited, barring any sort of injury, but you really want them to gear up for the one-on-one sessions you have with team officials and the individual workouts given at their respective schools. For the middle-range or lower-ranked prospect, the bowl game gives them an opportunity to showcase their individual skills, and many times this is when someone really jumps up the draft charts. The juniors who declare early don’t get that shot, so the workouts in Indianapolis and in the individual workouts take on much more value. My feeling is that you have to play in the all-star games if you are invited and are healthy, but if not, then you have to pass on that because the combine is also a health and medical session like you have never been through.”

Here is a quick look at the players that helped their draft stock with good showings all week long in Mobile, Ala., at the Senior Bowl.

1. B.J. Raji, defensive tackle, Boston College

Like Sedrick Ellis a year ago, Raji was the most dominant defensive player in Mobile. He consistently beat his man in one-on-one drills and got outstanding penetration from the inside in each and every practice session. It appears Raji has moved himself into a top-12 pick in the 2009 NFL draft.

2. Peria Jerry, defensive tackle, Ole Miss

Jerry wasn’t quite as dominant in drills as Raji, but he displayed excellent foot speed and quickness for such a large inside player and he showed some excellent pass rush moves.

Jerry looks like a sure-fire mid-1st round selection in April.

3. Alex Mack, offensive center, California

Mack was locked in a dead-heat with Oregon’s Max Unger for the top center spot in the draft, but he put on quite a show in Mobile. Mack has excellent size, a wide base and he is a nasty, very tough guy out on the field. He also is a very experienced pass protector and a very smooth technician.

4. Alphonso Smith, cornerback, Wake Forest

Smith lacks great size, but he is super quick, very instinctive and he finds the football quickly in flight. The coaches at the Senior Bowl raved about his football intelligence and his ability to adjust to more man-to-man coverage situations than he had played in college, since he played mainly in zone coverage schemes.

5.Shawn Nelson, tight end, Southern Mississippi

Nelson, the cousin of former LSU and current Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey, wowed the scouts with his sure hands and his ability to get separation from defenders downfield. Nelson is a solid at best blocker, but he gives good effort and the young man can certainly stretch the middle of the field.

6. Brandon Pettigrew, tight end, Oklahoma State

The speedy receiving target is the best tight end prospect for the 2009 NFL draft, and he proved it in Mobile. Pettigrew caught the ball well in traffic, and he can motor after the catch. He caught the eyes of the scouts with his improved in-line blocking skills.

7. Rey Maualuga, Clay Matthews and Brian Cushing, USC

This trio of Trojans’ linebackers will all go in Round 1. That’s easy to see after scouting their play in college and practice sessions in Mobile.

8. Larry English, defensive end, Northern Illinois

English is a bit undersized, but he is not a sleeper-type player anymore. He has a terrific initial step off the snap, and he has excellent closing speed to the quarterback. English has really upgraded his ability to use his hands correctly to free himself up from would-be blockers.

9. Coye Francies, cornerback, San Jose State

Coye has some off-the-field issues he must address to the NFL brass, but he has an excellent combination of match-up size ability, excellent recovery speed and first-rate ball skills. Francies is also a dangerous return man.

WEBB PREPARING FOR DRAFT

Nicholls State All-American defensive back Lardarius Webb has been recently training at Perfect Competition Athletic Complex in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in order to get in top shape for the Feb. 18-24 NFL combine workouts.

Webb, who will participate in the Texas versus The Nation All-Star game next Saturday in El-Paso, Texas, in the Sun Bowl, has been working out with speed and conditioning guru Pete Bommarito since mid-December.

The first-team All-Southland Conference free safety has added some weight and worked hard to get his 40-yard dash time down a few notches.

“Lardarius is excited about the progress he has made with Pete (Bommarito) in their training sessions, and he is very confident he will be able to convince the scouts and coaches at the all-star game and the combine workouts he has the right stuff to play in the NFL,” said Webb’s agent Marc Lillibridge. “Lardarius is an excellent football player and this sort of larger stage gives him that opportunity to show everyone he is indeed a unique football player due to his coverage skills, his ability to play both free safety and cornerback and his outstanding return skills.”

Webb will be joined at the all-star game by LSU defensive end Kirston Pittman, Louisiana-Lafayette wide receiver/return specialist Jason Chery, Northwestern State offensive guard Tim Henderson and Northwestern State wide receiver/return specialist Dudley Guice.

TULSA MAKING WAVES IN RECRUITING

Tulsa University has made some strides in recruiting south Louisiana over the past two seasons. Last season, Tulsa signed Destrehan High wide receiver/return specialist Damaris Johnson, who accounted for over 2,200 yards of total offense last season. Now they have landed two more River Parish standouts.

Lutcher High safety Dexter McCoil has verbally committed to play for Tulsa. McCoil, a 6-5, 185-pound free safety is projected to play weakside linebacker for the Golden Hurricanes, and he was being actively recruited by Auburn, Louisiana Tech and most of the state schools in Louisiana.

Lutcher head coach Tim Detillier says that despite McCoil’s thin frame, he is one of the most physical and aggressive players on the Bulldog squad.

Parker, a 5-9 ½, 175-pound cornerback, was in on 83 tackles and six pass interceptions in 2008. He returned five kicks for scores as a senior, and Parker has recorded 15 interceptions over the past two seasons.

The speedy cover-man was being recruited by SMU, Boise State and Louisiana Tech before verbally committing to Tulsa.

Parker and McCoil join East St. John High running back Alex Singleton, who is still being recruited by LSU, and St. Thomas More High wide receiver Jordan James as verbal commitments to Tulsa in this recruiting class.

LOUISIANA TECH RECRUITING AREA SCHOOLS

While Tulsa has made great strides in recruiting the southern part of the state, so has Louisiana Tech. Under head coach Derek Dooley and recruiting coordinator Terry Joseph, who was the defensive coordinator at Destrehan from 2002 through 2005, Louisiana Tech has been a major player for most of the second-tier prospects in the state.

In the past, Tech had mostly recruited the northern part of the state, eastern Texas and the junior college circuit, but under former LSU recruiting coordinator Derek Dooley, the Bulldogs have been a top second option for players not being recruited by LSU.

The University of Central Arkansas has obtained a verbal commitment from Destrehan quarterback Wynrick Smothers. Smothers, a 6-0, 185-pound signal-caller, led the Wildcats to an undefeated 2008 season and a Class 5A state championship in his first season as a starter.

Smothers had been recruited by Southeastern Louisiana, Memphis, SMU and Southern.

<p>The Senior Bowl All-Star game is the centerpiece of all post-season all-star events for college players entering the NFL. A great showing at the Senior Bowl could sky rocket a player’s draft stock, but a top all-star game is just a part of what most teams look at when grading the top college players.</p><p>I have always felt that the Senior Bowl or the East-West Shrine game were better indications on a player’s talent to enter the NFL than the combine workouts, and I would say 99.9 percent of the scouting people agree with that, said former New Orleans Saints scout and current WWL-870 radio color analyst Hokie Gajan.</p><p>When you scout players at the Senior Bowl, or any other all-star game, it is live action, a lot of one-on-one drills, especially with the offensive and defensive linemen, and you get to gauge players participating against other top college players, Gajan said. For the most part, the combine workouts are done in shorts and it is more of a speed, strength and agility workout than a football workout. Just look at last year. Guys like defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis, cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, quarterback Joe Flacco and wide receiver Eddie Royal helped their cause by practicing well at the Senior Bowl. After that game everyone put those players much higher on their draft board. It is another piece of the puzzle to workout well at the combine, but these bowl games take on much more significance because you are looking at them in football drills and not in short pants. The Combine workouts only mean something if you can play football. </p><p>While most of the information on prospects are in the draft books, the final chapters are written by showings at the all-star game and in combine and individual workouts. Former NFL linebacker Marc Lillibridge, now a sports agent, says that players have to understand that what they did in college is over, and they have to concentrate on maximizing their pro skills in speed and conditioning camps across America.</p><p>There is a second season and that season is the workout season, Lillibridge said. You want your players to participate in these bowl games if they get invited, barring any sort of injury, but you really want them to gear up for the one-on-one sessions you have with team officials and the individual workouts given at their respective schools. For the middle-range or lower-ranked prospect, the bowl game gives them an opportunity to showcase their individual skills, and many times this is when someone really jumps up the draft charts. The juniors who declare early don’t get that shot, so the workouts in Indianapolis and in the individual workouts take on much more value. My feeling is that you have to play in the all-star games if you are invited and are healthy, but if not, then you have to pass on that because the combine is also a health and medical session like you have never been through.</p><p>Here is a quick look at the players that helped their draft stock with good showings all week long in Mobile, Ala., at the Senior Bowl.</p><p>1. B.J. Raji, defensive tackle, Boston College </p><p>Like Sedrick Ellis a year ago, Raji was the most dominant defensive player in Mobile. He consistently beat his man in one-on-one drills and got outstanding penetration from the inside in each and every practice session. It appears Raji has moved himself into a top-12 pick in the 2009 NFL draft.</p><p>2. Peria Jerry, defensive tackle, Ole Miss </p><p>Jerry wasn’t quite as dominant in drills as Raji, but he displayed excellent foot speed and quickness for such a large inside player and he showed some excellent pass rush moves.</p><p>Jerry looks like a sure-fire mid-1st round selection in April.</p><p>3. Alex Mack, offensive center, California </p><p>Mack was locked in a dead-heat with Oregon’s Max Unger for the top center spot in the draft, but he put on quite a show in Mobile. Mack has excellent size, a wide base and he is a nasty, very tough guy out on the field. He also is a very experienced pass protector and a very smooth technician.</p><p>4. Alphonso Smith, cornerback, Wake Forest </p><p>Smith lacks great size, but he is super quick, very instinctive and he finds the football quickly in flight. The coaches at the Senior Bowl raved about his football intelligence and his ability to adjust to more man-to-man coverage situations than he had played in college, since he played mainly in zone coverage schemes.</p><p>5.Shawn Nelson, tight end, Southern Mississippi </p><p>Nelson, the cousin of former LSU and current Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey, wowed the scouts with his sure hands and his ability to get separation from defenders downfield. Nelson is a solid at best blocker, but he gives good effort and the young man can certainly stretch the middle of the field.</p><p>6. Brandon Pettigrew, tight end, Oklahoma State </p><p>The speedy receiving target is the best tight end prospect for the 2009 NFL draft, and he proved it in Mobile. Pettigrew caught the ball well in traffic, and he can motor after the catch. He caught the eyes of the scouts with his improved in-line blocking skills.</p><p>7. Rey Maualuga, Clay Matthews and Brian Cushing, USC </p><p>This trio of Trojans’ linebackers will all go in Round 1. That’s easy to see after scouting their play in college and practice sessions in Mobile.</p><p>8. Larry English, defensive end, Northern Illinois </p><p>English is a bit undersized, but he is not a sleeper-type player anymore. He has a terrific initial step off the snap, and he has excellent closing speed to the quarterback. English has really upgraded his ability to use his hands correctly to free himself up from would-be blockers.</p><p>9. Coye Francies, cornerback, San Jose State </p><p>Coye has some off-the-field issues he must address to the NFL brass, but he has an excellent combination of match-up size ability, excellent recovery speed and first-rate ball skills. Francies is also a dangerous return man.</p><p>WEBB PREPARING FOR DRAFT</p><p>Nicholls State All-American defensive back Lardarius Webb has been recently training at Perfect Competition Athletic Complex in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in order to get in top shape for the Feb. 18-24 NFL combine workouts.</p><p>Webb, who will participate in the Texas versus The Nation All-Star game next Saturday in El-Paso, Texas, in the Sun Bowl, has been working out with speed and conditioning guru Pete Bommarito since mid-December.</p><p>The first-team All-Southland Conference free safety has added some weight and worked hard to get his 40-yard dash time down a few notches.</p><p>Lardarius is excited about the progress he has made with Pete (Bommarito) in their training sessions, and he is very confident he will be able to convince the scouts and coaches at the all-star game and the combine workouts he has the right stuff to play in the NFL, said Webb’s agent Marc Lillibridge. Lardarius is an excellent football player and this sort of larger stage gives him that opportunity to show everyone he is indeed a unique football player due to his coverage skills, his ability to play both free safety and cornerback and his outstanding return skills.</p><p>Bommarito has worked with standout football players such as former Tulane halfback Matt Forte, now with the Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Kevin Williams, Jacksonville Jaguars halfback Maurice Jones-Drew and Tennessee Titans outside linebacker Keith Bulluck.</p><p>Webb will be joined at the all-star game by LSU defensive end Kirston Pittman, Louisiana-Lafayette wide receiver/return specialist Jason Chery, Northwestern State offensive guard Tim Henderson and Northwestern State wide receiver/return specialist Dudley Guice.</p><p>TULSA MAKING WAVES IN RECRUITING</p><p>Tulsa University has made some strides in recruiting south Louisiana over the past two seasons. Last season, Tulsa signed Destrehan High wide receiver/return specialist Damaris Johnson, who accounted for over 2,200 yards of total offense last season. Now they have landed two more River Parish standouts.</p><p>Lutcher High safety Dexter McCoil has verbally committed to play for Tulsa. McCoil, a 6-5, 185-pound free safety is projected to play weakside linebacker for the Golden Hurricanes, and he was being actively recruited by Auburn, Louisiana Tech and most of the state schools in Louisiana.</p><p>Lutcher head coach Tim Detillier says that despite McCoil’s thin frame, he is one of the most physical and aggressive players on the Bulldog squad.</p><p>The Golden Hurricanes also gained a verbal commitment from Destrehan cornerback/return specialist Antonio Parker.</p><p>Parker, a 5-9 ½, 175-pound cornerback, was in on 83 tackles and six pass interceptions in 2008. He returned five kicks for scores as a senior, and Parker has recorded 15 interceptions over the past two seasons. </p><p>The speedy cover-man was being recruited by SMU, Boise State and Louisiana Tech before verbally committing to Tulsa.</p><p>Parker and McCoil join East St. John High running back Alex Singleton, who is still being recruited by LSU, and St. Thomas More High wide receiver Jordan James as verbal commitments to Tulsa in this recruiting class.</p><p> </p><p>LOUISIANA TECH RECRUITING AREA SCHOOLS</p><p>While Tulsa has made great strides in recruiting the southern part of the state, so has Louisiana Tech. Under head coach Derek Dooley and recruiting coordinator Terry Joseph, who was the defensive coordinator at Destrehan from 2002 through 2005, Louisiana Tech has been a major player for most of the second-tier prospects in the state.</p><p>In the past, Tech had mostly recruited the northern part of the state, eastern Texas and the junior college circuit, but under former LSU recruiting coordinator Derek Dooley, the Bulldogs have been a top second option for players not being recruited by LSU.</p><p>Two years ago, Tech landed South Terrebonne High standout halfback/return specialist Phillip Livas, Patterson High quarterback-turned-safety Tarence Calais, Destrehan cornerback Joshua Victorian and H.L. Bourgeois High linebacker Kiamni Washington.</p><p>Livas, Calais, Victorian and Washington have turned out to be excellent college players for the Bulldogs and played major roles in helping turn around the Louisiana Tech football program.</p><p>In what looks to be one of the Tech’s best recruiting classes in years, Dooley has gained commitments from 24 players, and seven of them are from the southern part of the state.</p><p>Dooley and Tech have gained verbal commitments from Shaw High cornerback Chad Boyd, Acadiana High wide receiver D.J. St. Julien, O. Perry Walker High halfback Tyrone Duplessis, South Plaquemines High running back Lyle Fitte, O. Perry Walker linebacker Kendrick James, L.W. Higgins High defensive end Shakeil Lucas and Assumption High offensive tackle Jordan Mills.</p><p>SMOTHERS COMMITS TO UCA</p><p>The University of Central Arkansas has obtained a verbal commitment from Destrehan quarterback Wynrick Smothers. Smothers, a 6-0, 185-pound signal-caller, led the Wildcats to an undefeated 2008 season and a Class 5A state championship in his first season as a starter.</p><p>Smothers had been recruited by Southeastern Louisiana, Memphis, SMU and Southern.</p><p>NFL analyst Mike Detillier is based in Raceland.</p>